One Piece of Cover
by RebelliousWaffle
Summary: A Rebel and an Imperial on Jakku both dive for the same piece of cover during a strafing run.


Strafing runs had no allegiance. Sure, they were typically roughly aimed at one side or another, but the bolts themselves could kill friendly and enemy alike.

Standard policy was to get out of the way. Fast.

Tama Relidee, a female Twi'leki from Ryloth, had once been a slave before the Rebellion came and rescued her and her eleven sisters (well, not biologically, but they were close enough to her to be called sisters) from an Imperial governor. She had joined the Rebel armed forces, just like five of her sisters, and began to wage war on those that would do Ryloth harm- namely, the Empire. Just like the rest of her battalion, the "Fighting 53rd" or just the 53rd, she had come to Jakku for the _specific reason_ of taking the Solid City, a large prison that housed thousands of innocent people that may or may not have done anything against Imperial law. As an actual Imperial law was voicing your opinion, these people were most likely just small-time whistleblowers or people speaking up against corruption.

TK-2185, real name Richard Kent, was a Corellian human who had enlisted to provide an income to his family. He wasn't in love with the Empire, but didn't hate it either- he was pretty much indifferent. He hadn't seen the atrocities committed yet- hadn't seen the Solid City, where some punishments included being half-frozen in carbonite. TK-2185 was trained and ready to kill, but this was his first taste of true combat outside of simulations. The war games never really prepared him for the screaming or the blood or the carnage or the chaos. A wasteland barely described Jakku. It was littered with destruction and debris, with crashed Destroyers and broken MC80s, with shattered TIEs and destroyed Corellian Corvettes. The wasteland was now forever changed. People would be scavenging this area for centuries.

Tama Relidee and Richard Kent both dove behind a shattered TIE Fighter wing as a TIE Interceptor blasted the ground. They both rolled and came up behind cover and saw that across from them was an enemy.

Richard Kent saw a beautiful Twi'leki, with blue skin and long leks. Green eyes were highlighted against the dust stains on her smooth skin. Her uniform was covered in dust, making it more tan than brown.

Tama Relidee saw a stormtrooper with no helmet and military-issue brown hair and lightning blue eyes, with a long gash along his cheek, from which some blood ran, even though most had scabbed over.

But both saw an enemy. Tama reacted first, grabbing the E-11 from his hands and throwing it away, along with her A280C. She then quickdrew her DH-17, aiming it at Richard's forehead.

"Hey, take it easy. No need to kill me," Richard said, raising his hands in surrender.

Tama stayed silent for a second. Then: "Down on your knees."

Richard complied, but kept talking. "C'mon. I'll bet military life takes it out of you. Let me go and I'll show you a good time."

"You have the right to remain silent."

"I'll manage, thank you. My offer still stands, you exotic beauty."

She kicked his chest in response, mostly to shut him up, although she was blushing slightly at his compliments- he may have been an Imperial, but he was a rather charming and romantic Imperial.

"Shut up."

"Oh, darling, why would I do that instead of giving you praise? You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

"Shut. Up. Don't make this harder than it has to be."

"For who?"

Tama didn't say anything, but she looked at Richard with a pleading look in her eyes. Richard immediately knew, once she turned those mooka eyes on him, he would never be able to turn her down.

"Well, I can't deny a request from such a beautiful woman, can I?" Richard said, not speaking again. Tama blushed, but secretly wished he didn't follow her orders.

She took out a pair of binders and placed them around Richard's wrist.

She couldn't force herself to close them.

She sat down next to the stormtrooper and held her head in her hands. _Did I really just leave an Imperial free just because he flirted a bit? Am I really that gullible?_

Richard put one arm around her shoulders. It was reassuring, especially since he had taken off the plastoid gauntlet. It was now left in the sand to collect dust.

"Hey, look, it's okay. You're going to be fine."

Tender silence.

"You'll… come with me, right?" Tama asked, looking up. "Back to… to the… with me, to…"

Richard just nodded. "I'll go with you. As of right now, I am no longer an Imperial."

As if on cue, three stormtroopers came wandering over. One spoke up.

"TK-2185, you're late. Patrol is over. We're being rotated to Carbon Ridge. These rebel scum are trying to take the facility there."

Richard stood up and grabbed his E-11, faking compliance, before shooting the three easily and killing them.

"How did you…" Tama asked, before Richard cut her off.

"Top marks in Marksmanship. C'mon, we gotta move. You can lead the way," he said quickly.

Tama took her A280C from the sand and began running to the south, where she knew her sisters would be waiting. Richard followed, and being in excellent shape was able to keep up easily despite the weight of his armor.

The shuttle had five other twi'leks, three varying shades of blue and two in a sort of light green. Richard assumed they were her sisters. Those twi'leks raised blasters, but Tama waved them down. Tama stopped in front of a twi'lek that looked similar to her, but in green. They spoke quickly but quietly, and the name "Richard" was passed around quite a bit, but the twi'lek then nodded and motioned to enter the shuttle.

The other four twi'leks entered, and then the ship took off. Two X-Wings filed in to provide escort back to an MC80 far above the atmosphere, the _Twerito_, the mobile battleship for the Fighting 53rd.

The shuttle landed softly, once someone considered it was a combat landing. The six twi'leks and one human stepped off quickly. Tama dragged Richard along to the armory area, where she introduced him to the tailor of the ship and requested he was fitted for a Rebel Soldier's uniform. As the tailor started taking his measurements, she whispered in his ear, in words of golden lace that dripped from her red mouth like honey.

"Welcome to the Rebellion, love."


End file.
